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New University Transportation Center Focuses on the Impact of Transportation Emissions on Human Health

March 1, 2017

A tractor-trailer truck undergoes testing inside TTI’s Environmental & Emissions Research Facility located at the RELLIS Campus in Bryan, Texas.

A new University Transportation Center (UTC) will combine experts from two disciplines traditionally not known for research collaboration—transportation and public health.

The Center for Advancing Research in Transportation Emissions, Energy and Health (CAR-TEEH) will focus on the impact of transportation emissions on human health. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) leads the CAR-TEEH consortium consisting of four partner universities: Johns Hopkins University, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Texas at El Paso, and the University of California, Riverside.

CAR-TEEH is funded for a five-year period, at over $11 million. The head of TTI’s Environment and Air Quality Division, Joe Zietsman, will serve as Center Director, and lead CAR-TEEH. This one-of-a-kind center will perform cutting-edge research that brings together experts in the areas of transportation emissions and public health.

“CAR-TEEH’s unique contribution is in advancing research that addresses emissions in the context of public health, by bringing together experts from two disciplines (transportation and public health) that have not traditionally worked together,” says Zietsman. “CAR-TEEH will not only serve transportation research, education, and technology transfer but also promote interdisciplinary collaboration and communication.”

The CAR-TEEH consortium will focus on transportation emissions in a more comprehensive manner, mapping the holistic tailpipe-to-lungs spectrum, which includes the impact of transportation emissions on the environment and public health.

“The new center led by Dr. Zietsman will provide cutting-edge leadership in the nascent area of transportation and public health,” says TTI Agency Director Gregory D. Winfree. “The consortium is well-equipped to establish a UTC of strategic importance, producing high-quality, impactful research, technology transfer, education, and workforce development.”

A total of 32 UTCs were established with grant funding totaling over $300 million over the next five years to address “critical transportation challenges facing our nation.”